Joey Feek is still very much alive, both to her fans and her husband, Rory

Joey Feek fans felt her death more deeply because her struggles with terminal cancer were so well documented, and when she finally took her last breath, people across the world cried. But none were left more heartbroken than her husband, Rory Feek.

Rory has been vocal with his emotions: He has openly been sharing his heartache and updates with fans via social media, and now he’s speaking out about how he is dealing with life after Joey’s death.

Speaking in an interview with Billboard magazine, the first interview since his wife’s death in March, Feek revealed that their music is his solace.

“I’d say it brings me a lot of peace. I listen and watch everything — it’s part of the process for me. I don’t want to hide from her, or her memory, or those feelings. I want to embrace them and keep her as close to me as possible,” Rory told the publication. “Every morning about 5:30, Indiana and I get up, and quite often I play her the Hymns record. Sometimes we’ll listen and it’ll make us smile.”

The couple’s most recent album, Hymns, won critical acclaim, but it was also the most tragic of all of their albums because it was recorded while Joey was undergoing chemotherapy. While many people might think it would’ve been unbelievably difficult to focus on the music during this difficult time, Rory reveals it was quite the opposite.

“No, because that’s what she loved: to sing and make music,” he revealed after being questioned about whether it was tough to focus. He added, “Hymns was important to her — the only hard part was finding time to do it.”